UAE second top destination for Indian exports

DUBAI: As it prepares to receive External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha this week, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the second top destination for Indian exports.

The UAE replaced Hong Kong as the second biggest destination for Indian exports in 2001-02, and stands after the U.S., with two-way trade reaching $3.40 billion.

As economic links between the two countries grow, the UAE will see a high-profile visit by External Affairs Minister Sinha on Tuesday.
While Indian President A.P.J Abdul Kalam is also scheduled to visit the UAE, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is expected to visit India at the invitation of the Indian vice president.

The last senior Indian minister to visit the UAE was Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani in July 2001.

More high-profile visits will give the historic relationship between the two countries a solid mooring, said K.C. Singh, the Indian envoy to the UAE.

The UAE is keen to adapt the successful Indian experience in small and medium enterprises, Singh said. The UAE in turn can provide India with excellent manufacturing base.

The UAE is the largest market for the Indian products in the Middle East. India's exports to the UAE are well diversified and contain a large basket of goods.

The major items of India's exports to the UAE have been cotton items, gems and jewellery, marine products, machinery and instruments, plastic and linoleum products, tea and meat.

The major items of import from the UAE include oil and petroleum products, gold and silver, ores and metal scrap, sulphur and unroasted iron pyrites, pearls, precious and semiprecious stones.

Growing economic relations are also reflected in the frequent visits by heads of Indian IT companies who went to the UAE last year to tap Middle East markets after a slowdown in the American and European markets.